MLB News: Indians make bullpen move after rain-delay madness

Friday night, the Indians and Rays were scheduled to play a game of baseball at 7:05 p.m. It was Dollar Dog Night and there seemed to be a large crowd in attendance — the Tribe eventually announced an attendance of 29,603. But unfortunately, 4.5+ hours of rain delays derailed the enthusiasm, yet the game continued.

The game restarted at 12:10 a.m. in the bottom of the second inning. Right-hander Jamey Wright shut down Cleveland for three innings, while left-hander Scott Barnes got the opportunity in relief for the home team. He didn’t last long. In just one inning, Barnes tied his MLB-worst performance with five runs allowed, including two home runs. He made 30 pitches in the inning.

Thus, right on cue and to provide additional bullpen help for the weekend, the Indians sent the 25-year-old Barnes back down to AAA Columbus where he has spent the majority of his time this season. The corresponding move was the purchase of right-hander reliever Matt Langwell’s contract from the Clippers.

Langwell, 27, is 7-1 with a 3.15 ERA in 64 games over parts of the last three seasons with Columbus. He has 103 strikeouts against 42 walks in his 100.0 innings for the Clip Show. The team’s 11th-round draft pick in 2008 out of Rice, he has consistently ascended through the minor league levels and likely will be getting his first crack at the majors at some point against Tampa Bay this weekend.

Eventually, Matt Albers, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Shaw shut down the Rays for just one run over the next five innings. But then Rich Hill imploded in the ninth, allowing another three runs to provide for the final 9-2 deficit. The Indians bullpen struggled mightily overall in the month of May, finishing with a 5.75 ERA compared to a 3.70 mark for the previously maligned starting rotation.

Jacob Rosen is a long-time contributor to WaitingForNextYear. He's also a writer online at SportsAnalyticsBlog and Nylon Calculus . An Akron native, Jacob is a current MBA student at the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. You can follow him on Twitter @WFNYJacob or e-mail him at udjrosen(at)gmail(dot)com.

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